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Ideas for ‘new’ military unrealistic

Ashton Carter, the newly appointed Secretary of Defense, will likely hold that job only for the remaining months of President Obama’s term in office, but, the changes he proposes for the military could affect the armed services for years.

Ashton Carter, the newly appointed Secretary of Defense, will likely hold that job only for the remaining months of President Obama’s term in office, but, the changes he proposes for the military could affect the armed services for years.

Carter wants to revise the evaluation methods, promotion and retention programs of those serving in the military. Among his many suggestions for “the force of the future” are to increase basic pay for some high-demand career fields, offer bonuses to high-performing individuals, end the “up or out” promotion system to keep qualified people even if they do not advance in the ranks and give people more flexibility in deciding their next job in the military.

Carter wants to establish an officer and enlisted group for those who have certain technical skills but are not interested in command or supervisory roles. He wants to give less weight to seniority and more emphasis on merit for promotions. He wants to allow those with certain speciality skills to join the military in the middle ranks rather than have them start at the bottom.

To encourage enlistment, Carter suggests paying off student loans for qualified recruits. Secretary Carter wants to allow certain military personnel to take a “sabbatical” from active duty for a few years and use the time to get a degree, learn a new skill, or start a family. He also wants to give 18 months maternity leave to female military personnel after child birth.

All these grandiose ideas sound great but how in reality does the government accomplish this wish list? How do you give “sabbaticals” to active-duty people? Who will replace them? How do you afford to give 18 months maternity leave and make up the reduction in personnel? Do those on maternity leave still collect their military pay and promotions? Where does the money come from to pay off student loans while the country is $18 trillion in debt and budget cuts are gutting the military to support entitlement programs.

In addition, studies indicate that only one-third of today’s younger people could qualify for military service, while there is a need to bring in about 250,000 per year to fill the quotas.

Carter claims the demands of the 21st century require changes in the way military personnel are promoted and retained. He believes “the Defense Department has to think hard about how to attract, inspire and excite people to join the military” to meet the challenges of the future. That might all be true, but, his ideas seem better suited for recruiting in the business world rather than recruiting for the military. He does admit, however, that “Military life will never be like civilian life. Military life is the profession of arms, so it’s different.”

What Secretary Carter fails to explain is if the desire is to retain highly experienced personnel then why is a decorated Green Beret 1st Sergeant. with 11 years service being given an “involuntary discharge” for shoving an Afghan? The Afghan admitted to raping a 12-year old boy multiple times and beating the mother senseless for reporting the incident, then laughed about it when confronted by the sergeant. The Green Beret sergeant gets punished and the Afghan goes free. If that’s how the Department of Defense treats our heros, why would anyone want to enlist?

Not since President Clinton and his Secretary of Defense William Cohen, has there been a situation where both the Commander-in-Chief, and the Secretary of Defense have no actual military experience — until now. Neither Obama or Carter ever served in military yet, they get to decide what’s best for our armed forces.

The Constitution gives them that power. But, it is their decisions that will heavily impact America’s military strength, military strategy, the lives of 1.3 million military personnel and their families, as well as how we retain, promote and recruit military personnel long after they leave office.

Carl J. Asszony of Piscataway is a member of the Veterans Advisory Council at the VA Medical Center, Lyons. njveteran30@gmail.com